Friday, June 24, 2011

Rights are rights. Love is love.

I just finished watching the livestream of the NY Senate voting on the Marriage Equality Act of 2011.

A lot of the Senators who chose to explain their votes said that this had been a 'difficult decision' and a 'struggle' to get through all of this.

And I find myself thinking.... why?
Why is it so difficult to just allow people to love.
Why is it so difficult to cast a vote giving people FREEDOM in a 'FREE' country.

And was this really not foreseen??

*ahem*
-Women become 'people' and get the right to vote, starting in New Zealand in 1893. Before that Women were 'seen and not heard'. Now look at where we are.
-The African-American Civil Rights movement starting with little old Rosa Parks on a bus in 1955 and leading to the passing of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 and the continued de-segregation of schools. Before this black people were enslaved and looked down upon solely for their skin colour.
- July 20 2005, Canada becomes the 4th country in the world and the first of the Americas to legalize gay marriage nationwide. Before this the LGBT community was treated as a sub-society group of people with very little rights afforded to them if they wanted to start a family. Only a few of the provinces had allowed same-sex marriage before this.

I am SO thankful to be living in a country like Canada where the people of the country are heard and get an opinion.
I am thankful that my son will grow up in a country of acceptance, tolerance, integration and love.
You know the way we feel when we look back on the right-fights of women and of African-Americans?...Like "How was that even possible? Why were they treated so differently?"...
I hope that Toby feels that way when he looks back on the continued fight for the rights on the LGBT community.... "How was that even possible? Why were they treated so differently?"...
I hope that Toby grows to learn to appreciate where we live and what our country stands for,
I hope that Toby learns to love and accept everyone, no matter who they are, what they believe, what they look like, or who the love.
I hope that, if Toby is gay, that he will have the continued freedom to love who he wants to love without judgement or question... and maybe by that time there will be far less anti-gay bullying... or maybe it will be gone altogether.

~A world where women get the vote?? Never.
~A world where Blacks are considered equals? Never.
~A world where gays can love openly? Never.